Libya’s Largest Oilfield Offline, Amid Uncertainty, ISIS Beheadings

Weighing in on oil price uncertainty, market watchers have been in a state of confusion over varying reports over the past three days as to the status of exports from Libya’s biggest producing oilfield. Earlier this morning, news reports citing National Oil Company (NOC) sources said production had resumed at Sharara, following a three-day blockade of the pipeline that feeds crude to Zawiya export terminal. Reports said that the Tripoli-based NOC—recognized by the UN as the legitimate NOC–announced it was lifting the force majeure on shipments of oil pumped from the country’s largest oilfield—the Sharara—to the Zawiya port. However, a Reuters report citing unnamed Libyan officials, the field remains offline for unclear reasons. The same report noted that operations had restarted yesterday at least once, for a short period. “They open one valve, they close the other,” one unnamed sources told Reuters. It was suggested that “negotiations” were underway […]